The effectiveness of clinical hypnosis on migraine headache symptoms and pain perception
This study examined the effectiveness of the Hypnotherapy Protocol for Migraine in Adults (HPMA) in alleviating pain perception and migraine symptoms among outpatients. It was designed as a randomized controlled trial comprising three phases: baseline, intervention, and follow-up, which included both an experimental group and a wait-list control group. The sample consisted of 40 outpatients from Iran, categorized into those with aura, those without aura, and those with chronic migraine, selected through random sampling for each group. The research employed the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ;) and the Ahvaz Migraine Questionnaire (AMQ;) for assessment. The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of HPMA, scheduled biweekly, with each session lasting 60 minutes. The analysis indicated that the experimental group showed a significant reduction in pain perception (including sensory, affective, and total scores of SF-MPQ) and migraine symptoms when compared to the wait-list control group during both the intervention and follow-up phases.
Authors
- Sahar Mirghobad Khodarahmi
- Mojtaba Rahimian Bougar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6574-9627)
- Siamak Khodarahimi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1031-2078)
- Belgheis Beit-Mashal
- Alireza Hoor
- Forough Javanbakht
- Atefeh Haghighat
Institutions
- Islamic Azad University, Tehran (IR)
- Counseling Center (US)
- Tabaran Institute of Higher Education (IR)
- Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education (RU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis
- Published
- 2026-09-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00029157.2026.2725608
- Primary Topic
- Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00